Garment hanger for automobiles



Aug. 9, 1949. L. w. STRASSER ETAL GARMENT HANGER FOR AUTOMOBILES FiledAug. 5, 1948 /IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII IIIII I fil AT ORNEY-5 Patented Aug.9, i949 GARMENT HANGER FOR AUTOMOBILES Lena W. Strasser, Sidney, andLena A. Thielke, Guilford, N. Y.

Application August 5, 1948, Serial No. 42,684

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to improved garment hangers forautomobiles, and particularly to hangers of large capacity which mayreadily be attached and detached, and which do not in use interfere withthe normal operation of doors or windows.

While it is often desirable to carry a large number of dresses, coatsand suits on a motor trip in such a manner that they will not becomemussed, and are readily accessible, the hook attachments presentlyavailable will accommodate only a garment or two and do not permit thegarment to hang freely.

It is the principal object of this invention to provide a garment hangeron which a large number of pieces can be freely supported between theopposite rear doors or windows of an automobile by means of common coathangers.

A further object is to provide an extensible, bar type of hanger withpivotal supporting means cooperatively mounted on oppositely openinghinged doors so that opening of either door is possible without removalof the hanger or disarrangement of the individual coat hanger carriedthereon. a

An additional object is to provide a telescoping garment hanger witheasily attachable and adjustable supporting means engageable with thedoor or window frame of the ordinary automobile.

These and other objects contributing to efllciency in use and ease ofmanufacture will be more readily understood from the following detaileddescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the complete garment hanger;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view to a reduced scale showing thenovel mounting of one end of the hanger on the door of an automobile;and

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view, looking rearwardly, of an automobilehaving the garment hanger mounted for use between the rear doors.

With reference to Fig. 1, there is shown an extensible hanger bar Inhaving at each end a pivotal, adjustable supporting hook l2 engaging aclip or mounting member I, whereby the hanger may be mounted in the rearseat compartment of an automobile A (Fig. 3) by attachment to oppositelyopening hinged doors D, D. It is to be particularly observed that use ofthis novel hanger does not prevent opening of either door, and that thehorizontally extending bar I is so positioned that when the hooks ofindividual 2 coat or' dress hangers (not shown) are slidingly suspendedthereon, the coats or dresses themselves will be so far below the rearand side windows that vision will not be obstructed in a hazardousmanner.

The hanger bar Hi preferably comprises an outer telescoping member l6approximately the same in length, but slightly less than, the width ofthe car between the doors D, D, when the latter arev closed. An innertelescoping member l8 makes a smooth sliding fit with member [6, andreaches far enough within said member I! to prevent separation when adoor is opened and to provide adequate bearing length. While other formsof telescoping construction are possible, the use of well polished,tubular metal lengths of circular cross-section has been foundeconomical, durable and most satisfactory. Such metal tubes continue tooperate smoothly after much use and permit ready movement of the wirehooks of the coat hangers without appreciable wear. By placing all thehangers on the car-wide outer telescoping member l6, there will be nodisturbance or bunchlng together when a door is opened and closed.

The available ends of telescoping members It and [8 are formed toprovide spaced, aligned pairs of preferably circular bearing openings20, 20 and 22, 22, respectively for pivotal cooperation with theidentical hooks l2. It will be rec0 nized that the metal hooks l2 are astandard item of hardware comprising a half-turn, semicircular hookportlon 24, a plain round shank portion 26 extending through one of thetubular members, and a projecting threaded end 28 provided with a wingnut 30 for convenience in attachment and adjustment.

The clip members ll, which may be made from a fairly stlfl metal plate,are U-shaped with two legs for cooperative engagement with the hooks I2and semi-permanent attachment to automobile doors or windows. The clipmembers H are identical and comprise a generally triangular body portion32 having its base bent over to clip formation providing a deep flangeor leg 34 extending in parallel spaced relation to the body portion.There is a large circular opening 36 in the center of the depending apexportion for ready insertion and support of the much smaller hook portion24. The apex portion of the elongated clip member I! is truncated toform a straight end 38 parallel to the bent portion between body portion32 and flange 34 for ready turning relative to the respective topportions of hanger bar Ill.

Fig. 2 shows best the manner in which the clip members I 4 can be simplyand securely fastened along the inner portion of a door D through themedium of a conventional inner trim strip T framing the top of a doorWindow opening 0. The normal mounting of such strips provides a closedslot with the door into which the extended flange 34 can be forced andfrictionally retained. Of course, the shape of the attaching portion ofthe clip member can be varied in order to fit a different form of innertrim, but the one illustrated and preferred can be used with a verylarge proportion of the automobiles being used today.

After the opposite clip members l4 have been secured to the innerportions of doors D, D as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 and described indetail, the hooks l2 will be inserted in clip openings 36 with therespective hook portions 24 outturned. The shank portions 25 will thenbe passed through the openings provided in the tubular members It and[8, respectively, and the wing nuts tightened until the clip ends 38 arein contact with the tops of said tubular members, or substantially so.The desired pivotal movement about the vertical axes of the hooks I2 isthus obtained and the hooks are prevented from bouncing or working outof engagement with the clip members I4. The attachment of the bar III tothe clip members can also be accomplished by having the nuts 30 loosenedto near the ends of the threaded portions and slipping the hook portions24 through the enlarged clip openings or apertures 36. It will beobserved that the aperture 36 lies in a plane parallel to the directionof elongation of clip member I4, and parallel to the window frame whenmounted. Turning the hook portions 24 outwardly gives a littleadditional efiective length to the hanger bar I0 and preventsentanglement with the wire hook of a coat hanger.

The hanger bar II! can be quickly detached from the clip members l4,telescoped to minimum size and stowed in the automobile trunk, back ofthe rear seat, or on the floor of the rear compartment.

It is to be understood that the invention which has been describedcomprehends the entire hanger bar as an article of manufacture and saleas well as the combination of such a hanger bar with opposite hingeddoors of an automobile or the like.

From the foregoing description of construction and operation it will nowbe apparent that there has been provided by this invention anautomobile' garment hanger that is: capacious, convenient to install anduse, not a hazard to driving, simple and inexpensive.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been described indetail, it is to be understood that certain variations can be made indetails of construction and arrangement of parts without departing fromthe principles thereof and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as novel and desireto secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In combination with an automobile having opposed hinged doors, eachof said doors including a window frame having a trim strip secured alongthe inner top side of the frame, a telescoping clothes hanging rod, avertical hook member having a shank extending loosely through each endof the rod for pivotal movement therein and including adjustable meansformed to prevent withdrawal of the shank, a U-shaped, elongated clipmember secured to an inner portion of each door by hooking engagementover the respective trim strip, the depending leg portion of each clipmember on the outside of the trim strip being formed with a centralaperture parallel to the window frame loosely receivin the hook portionof the corresponding hook member and terminating in a straight endparallel to the hanging rod, said hanging rod comprising two roundtubular members, the outer of which is of a, length approximating butslightly less than the distance be tween said clip members when bothdoors are in closed position.

2. A clothes hanger for use with automobiles having opposed hinged doorsprovided with movable windows and an interior trim strip above the frameof each window, said hanger comprising in combination, a first tubularrod of circular cross-section adapted to extend across the space betweenthedoors, a second tubular rod of smaller circular cross-section andless length than and telescoping within the first tubular rod, the outerend of each tubular rod being formed with a pair of aligned circularopenings, a hook member having an elongated shank extending looselythrough the pair of openings of each rod and including a threadedlyengaged wing nut to adjust the length of the shank and preventwithdrawal thereof, and an elongated, plate-like U-shaped clip memberfor each hook member, one leg of said clip member being adapted to hookover the upper edge of one of the interior trim strips, and the otherleg being longer for extending over the outside of and depending in freerelation from said trim strip,- said longer leg being formed with astraight end edge and a central aperture for loosely receiving the hookportion of one of the hook members, said aperture lying in a planeparallel to the direction of elongation of the clip member.

LENA W. STRASSER. LENA A. THIELKE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

